Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis
by Sithanas
Summary: [CHAPTER 8 POSTED - FINALLY] When Shinji reverses Third Impact, the rest of the world sees it as a failed attempt. Now SEELE is going ahead with their plans for Second Instrumentality, and they won't take no for an answer. ACCs and strong words inside.
1. Chapter 1: Rebirth

Welcome to the wonderful world of my mind. Being as crazy as I am is not required, but it helps.  
Your loving author,  
Sithanas  
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own Evangelion (Well, except for the perfect collection, the manga, the EoE movie...). However, I do own this and if you steal it I will hunt you down and send my attack sharks after you. Enjoy!  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis  
Chapter 1: Rebirth  
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"All is... as it was. Thy wish is fulfilled. Third Impact is complete. Ikari Shinji... you have strength beyond your own knowledge. Never forget this... Shinji, my son..." Shinji looked at the ghost of Yui Ikari as she sat in midair, smiling. Leaning forward to kiss her son on the cheek, she disappeared, fading into the sky. "Sayonara, Shinji." He smiled.  
  
"Sayonara, okasan." Stretching, he rose from his seat in Kaji's watermelon patch and headed back to Misato's apartment.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So Third Impact never happened? Then how can you explain the blue light readings after Tabris was destroyed?" Misato Katsuragi's back was turned to Maya Ibuki as she quizzed her on the events of the past few weeks.  
  
"They're being attributed to the failed attempt at Third Impact by SEELE forces. Apparently, they tried to use their only complete EVA unit to initiate the impact. As a result, they have no EVA units anymore - only a rather large crater in South Africa. Also, the failed impact seems to have rendered all of our EVA units inoperative, but it thankfully didn't produce the same results they had."  
  
"So if they attack, all of our heavy artillery is out of commission? Remember, the EVA series are pretty much our only large-scale combat units. All we have now is the stationary missile launchers, right?"  
  
"And a handful of mobile mortar launchers. Also, inventory reports we're at about 30 percent of drone fighters, and that the EVA transports are intact, thankfully. So if we can repair them, we can move them."  
  
Misato stared off into space for a second, then turned to face Maya and nodded.  
  
"Thank you for the report, Lieutenant. Please keep monitoring for anything that might even potentially be useful. Also, have repairs on the EVA series started. We can't afford to be caught unprepared. Dismissed."  
  
Maya stood from the chair she was sitting in. "Yes ma'am, Major Katsuragi." She turned towards the exit and left. Misato didn't seem to really notice, she just stared into the space where Maya was standing and muttered to herself.  
  
"There's something wrong with all of this... but I can't quite figure out what..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chairman Keele was decidedly unhappily. He watched as the rest of the SEELE board cringed away from him in the virtual meeting room, and found he didn't care. He was too interested in yelling to care.  
  
"What do you mean, 'It didn't work!' That EVA was in PRIME CONDITION! IT HADEN'T EVEN BEEN PILOTED! What the HELL was the PROBLEM?!" The other SEELE members offered no explanations - they only cringed. Keele stared daggers at each one before continuing. "We must *immediately* fall back on the secondary plan. Or do you need to tell me that that failed too? Well, speak up, I'm waiting!"  
  
SEELE six took the initiative. "No sir, that hasn't failed. Second genesis is primed and ready to go. All we need is an EVA to generate the required AT Field." The statement went a long way in placating Keele a bit.  
  
"Good, good. How long until the S2 engines arrive?"  
  
"Only a week, sir. Also, the first of the R-Series EVA units will be here tomorrow. We believe that the fact that our original EVA was part of the first Series is what caused Third Impact to fail. So instead of taking chances, we're synthesizing an all-new EVA series, with a full thirteen units. That way we won't need to worry about residual links remaining to the original EVA Series' vessel."  
  
"Good. I'm glad to see that at least some of you can think. Notify me when the engines arrive, and as the new units come online. Keele out." Chairman Keele's visage faded from the room, followed shortly by the rest of the SEELE Council.  
  
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Next Time, on NGE: Second Genesis:  
Sinister lines as SEELE begins work on its fallback for Third Impact! Also, trouble awaits Shinji as Asuka returns from her coma!  
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End Note: I'm sorry for all the horrors of my writing, but this is my first Fanfiction, so please be gentle. Read and review!  
Arigato!  
--Sithanas-- 


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't know exactly what to say in these things... oh, yeah. For anyone who's wondering about the Third Impact, I use the impact from the anime and not from End of Evangelion. (You know, the one where Shinji was given control over the form the world would take.) Oh yeah, and sorry about the absurd shortness of Chapter 1. I wrote it during a detention, so it was basically finished in a half-hour. Hopefully my future chapters will be longer.  
  
Enjoy!  
Your loving author,  
Sithanas  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Evangelion, and please don't sue me, I'm broke.  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis  
Chapter 2: Awakening  
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**About one week after Third Impact**  
  
"Begin activation." Commander Ikari's voice echoed slightly in the small testing control room. In front of them were large glass windows, allowing them to look into the tall chamber where EVA 1 stood, latched firmly to the opposite wall.  
  
"Beginning activation. Connecting main power." Maya was running the test, as Dr. Akagi wasn't out of the brig yet. "Main power connected. Power flow nominal. Inserting entry plug."  
  
Shinji felt the slight sensation of spinning as his plug slid home into Unit 1. A quiet "thunk" and a whine of motors, and he was sealed into the most powerful combat device in the world. He heard Maya's voice come over the plug's speakers and he prepared himself for the next step.  
  
"Filling the entry plug." Shinji felt the cool LCL creep up his legs, his thighs, stomach, chest, and finally his face, filling the plug completely. He inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the scent of blood it always carried. "Level one interface achieved. Moving to level two. Charging LCL." As Shinji watched, the LCL blurred for a second, then cleared. It was now no different, color-wise, from being in air - only a little heavier.  
  
Maya looked at the gauges, seeing that the plug was completely filled. "Plug insertion complete. Ready for level three interface. Shinji-kun... are you ready?"  
  
"Hai. Third Child, ready for synchronization." Maya flipped a trio of red switches, cutting the MAGI system into the circuits, then hit the red button labeled "SYNCH START". The circuit charts appeared on the monitors, links lighting as they passed from offline into active. In a few seconds, the borderline was crossed.  
  
"EVA 1, interface green. Evangelion Unit 1 has activated."  
  
Misato cut in to give Shinji his orders. "All right Shinji-kun. Begin the first phase of the motion tests. Start with the left arm, please."  
  
"Hai, Misato-san." As the tests began, no one noticed Commander Ikari leave the room, Rei in tow.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In a similar room in Antarctica, Chairman Keele watched as a similar test was being carried out, only with a different Evangelion and lacking most of the equivalent personnel. As Keele watched impassively, a blood red dummy plug was locked into the R-type EVA that stood bolted to the wall. A muffled "thump" was heard as the EVA sealed its hatch.  
  
"Dummy plug secure. Beginning first level interface." A junior tech was running the activation test. Keele had no real reason for concern, so he didn't desire any senior personnel. After all, the R-type EVA units would be unaffected no matter what happened to the original EVA series. That was the good thing about them - they were completely unrelated, which made them totally independent from EVA 1, the master of the original series.  
  
"First level achieved, moving to level two. Charging LCL." The tech crossed his fingers and flipped the plug activation switches on his board. "Dummy plug online and receiving signal. Emotive elements online. Pilot shadow active. Ready for third level interface." He looked towards Keele, who gave a short nod. He flipped the MAGI control switches, and then hit "SYNCH START".  
  
"Initiating synchronization... synchronization complete. Emotive elements at 98.2 percent. Evangelion 1R has activated." Keele allowed a ghost of a smile to dance about his lips for a brief moment. "Very good. Begin performing the tests of its AT Field. I will be in my chambers. Notify me when this is complete." He turned and left, leaving the tech to begin his work.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Rei, I want you to stay here at NERV for the time being. Until we can dismantle SEELE, they will stop at nothing to capture or kill the Evangelion pilots, and you have no replacements left. You *must* stay here and stay alive." Commander Ikari and Rei Ayanami stood facing each other in Gendo's office. He reached out and took Rei by the shoulder. "Rei, your purpose has been fulfilled, but you need not die yet. I want you to remain." She nodded.  
  
"Hai, Commander."  
  
"Not Commander, Rei. Otousan, not Commander." He smiled slightly at Rei and she smiled back. "Hai, otousan."  
  
"Good. Now go find yourself some quarters. I have business to attend to." They both turned and left the office, heading in opposite directions.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shinji stripped off his damp plugsuit and headed for the locker room showers. "I'm out of the plug, but it still smells like blood... it always smells like blood..." Reaching the showers, he stepped in and twisted the spray knob to "on" and "hot". Lathering on some soap, he proceeded to try his best to rid himself of the horrid LCL scent.  
  
After he was finished and dressed, he found himself strolling aimlessly through the corridors of NERV. He had no homework to complete, no tests to study for, and no one to talk to - Kensuke was at school watching one of Touji's basketball games. Then he remembered - Asuka was still in the 2nd Cranial division of the infirmary. "Maybe I'll go visit her... it couldn't hurt, I guess." Decided, he headed off towards the infirmary wing and Asuka.  
  
As Shinji walked, he lost himself in thought. "I really do hope Asuka is all right... I'm still scared of Ayanami, and Misato-san seems so... busy lately, I guess. Either she's out with Kaji-san or she's here at NERV doing something... it's almost as if she never comes home. It's lonely with the apartment always empty. I hope she wakes up soon... Asuka..." As he wasn't paying attention, he walked into the door leading into the 2nd Cranial. Startled out of his reverie, he looked up and realized where he was. Tapping the "door open" control, he proceeded into the hospital wing and into Asuka's room.  
  
The first thing that struck Shinji was the damned beeping from her monitors. Instead of reassuring him as it was supposed to, it only reminded him that she wasn't quite there. Leaning over her, he touched her face. "Asuka... please, wake up. Ayanami scares me... Misato's too busy... please, wake up and come home..." He looked at her. No response. With the ominous beeping filling his ears, Shinji thought she looked dead. "Asuka, please... wake up! Call me 'baka' like you always do! Please, Asuka! Asuka! ASUKA!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook hard, and the completely unexpected happened. Her eyes snapped open.  
  
"W... what's wrong? Baka Shinji? Where am I?" Squinting, she looked around the room, focusing on the key items such as the IVs in her arm and the life monitors strung to her chest. "The infirmary? But why am I here?" Her head swiveled to lock her gaze on Shinji. "And most importantly, who gave you permission to touch Asuka the Great? Well, baka?" Shocked by her awakening, Shinji jumped backwards before she could whack him for shaking her.  
  
"I'm sorry, Asuka. You were in a coma and I was trying to wake you... I never thought it would actually work. How are you feeling?" He smiled at her, relieved that she wasn't trying to kill him... yet.  
  
"Okay, except for the fact that my throat's a bit sore. How... how long have I been here? Since Section 2 found me, I'll bet. Don't just stand there! Go get a doctor and get me *out* of here! I want to go home! And you're cooking, baka!"  
  
He grinned broadly, happy that she was all right. "All right, all right, Asuka-sama. Your wish is my command." He left, leaving Asuka muttering to herself.  
  
"Asuka-sama, huh? I like the sound of that..."  
  
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Next Time, on NGE: Second Genesis:  
SEELE sets the first stages of their plan in motion with a terrorist-style strike! Also, Shinji and Asuka face their first challenge with Second Genesis! And don't forget Rei - Meet the newly-built Unit 0! Only on NGE: Second Genesis!  
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End Note: I tried to make this one a little longer, but I wasn't very successful. In general, as my chapters lengthen I ramble more. Also, Shinji and Asuka aren't quite in character during Asuka's awakening. I know this.  
Please read and review!  
  
Your loving author (who needs a better closing line)  
Sithanas 


	3. Chapter 3: Synchronization

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I want to use this author's note to explain my vision of the NGE characters. This will probably be a long forward, but if you want to find out what I see, this is just about the only way.  
  
Ikari Shinji is rather easy, in fact, he can be explained with a quote. "My only purpose in life is to die." Shinji believes that he exists for no reason, and that his existence relies on the Evangelion and the fact that he must pilot it. But during the Third Impact, Shinji discovers that he can, in fact, live without the EVA. This gives him the strength and sense of worth to continue living in the current universe.  
  
Katsuragi Misato is a driven woman. Her mother left her father while Misato was very young after her father distanced himself from the family. Misato joined her father when she was about 5 on the Katsuragi Expedition to Antarctica, where Second Impact occured. Misato was the expedition's only survivor, and only because her father expended his last effort to get her to the survival pod. As a result, she is a mix of two distinct personalities. She is both the lost little girl, looking for companionship and comfort, and the driven avenger, determined to rid the world of the scourge that killed her father. When combined, this can cause a rather caustic drive to win at all costs.  
  
Ikari Gendo is portrayed by the animated series as dark and unforgiving, but you really have to look closely to pick up the true distinctions of his character. Gendo has always been somewhat violent, and has never seemed kind to anyone but his wife, Yui. He was always highly focused on gaining his ends through almost any means, and uses whatever information he has obtained to his advantage, such as when he managed to flee Antarctica just prior to the Second Impact. He truly cares for his son, Shinji, but yet cannot manage to come close to him after the death/absorption of his wife. What really changed him was the death of his wife. However, he is not all cold and cruel. One only has to look at his interactions with Ayanami Rei to realize that he does care, at least sometimes. They smile, talk, and relate. She is almost more his daughter than Shinji is his son. Perhaps that is because she is the core of instrumentality, but perhaps it is because he expresses the love he cannot express to Shinji with her.  
  
One could debate whether or not Ayanami Rei actually has a personality to discuss. She is an enigma, hampered by the fact that after every rebirth she loses all of her memories. But Rei II (the one I use), possibly because she is the longest alive of the three Rei in the series, seems to be the most human. Rei lacks the cold detachment that Gendo posesses (she couldn't fire on Suzuhara), but does not seem to have social skills to make up for this. Also, she has no idea how Gendo truly feels towards her - as far as she knows, she is only seen as a subordinate. Rei II is strongly loyal to Gendo, and refuses to listen to anything against him. But she also cares about Shinji, as evidenced by her willingness to sacrifice herself for him.  
  
Out of all of the NGE characters, I would say that Asuka Langley Sohryu is the hardest to nail. Asuka is strong-willed, potentially violent, and dangerous in combat. One could say that she doesn't quite have all of her marbles at any one given moment, but yet she's not quite insane. She was traumatized at a young age by her mother's suicide, and never quite dealt with or recovered from it. Instead, she repressed it and tried to move on with her life. As a result, she fared rather badly when the 15th angel brought the repressed memories forward. The major problem with pegging Asuka is that she is separated into three distinctly different characters. Character A, the side you see in the anime, is a wild, dangerous, arrogant, and slightly nuts middle school girl. Character B, the side you see in the manga, is like a sister to Shinji. She acts like the disillusioned, sarcastic sister that Shinji never had. Character C, the side you see after the 15th Angel, is a lost little girl that would give nothing but to have her mother back and whole again. All together, the interplay of the three characters makes her a difficult person to portray. As such, I tend to concentrate on the side shown in the NGE manga. I think that overall, Asuka really is more like a sister to Shinji than anything else, and I believe that I can make this fanfic play out best using that character side.  
  
I'm always welcome to tips about my character usage - you can discuss it with me in an email or over my AIM sn. Both can be found in my profile. Thanks for putting up with this extra-long Author's note. I wanted my audience to see what I saw in the characters, and I figured this was the best way. As a character comes into play in my story, I'll probably cover their description in a future note.  
  
Enjoy!  
Your loving author,  
Sithanas  
  
DISClAIMER: I don't own Evangelion. Nope, not one bit. I'm just some kid writing a fanfic because I love the series and REALLY WANT SOME OVAs! (GAINAX, I hope you're reading this!)  
  
Also, please don't sue me. I'm broke.  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis  
Chapter 3: Synchronization  
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The howl of an Evangelion transport filled the sky of Tokyo-3 as it taxied in for landing at the NERV-00 airbase. As it touched down, the small audience got a good look at its polished blue cargo, complete with the usual designation: "EVA 0 PROTO". The newly-rebuilt Evangelion 0 prototype had landed.  
  
Rei watched impassively as work crews loaded the EVA into its cage deep in the bowels of NERV. She looked the EVA over critically. Other than the dual optical sensors (making it look somewhat like a blue EVA-03) and the absence of an umbilical jack on the spine plating, it was identical to the Evangelion unit she had self-destructed to eliminate the 16th Angel. Staring for a few moments longer, she turned on her heel and headed back towards her new quarters. She smiled slightly to herself, inwardly. She once again had a purpose.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Chairman Keele. NERV has received a replacement EVA for the one that was destroyed in combat with the 15th Angel. They are building their forces, sir. We must accelerate the plan to deal with this buildup. They must be crushed before they can complete their EVA series!" Keele looked impassively at the panicked captain. He was in charge of the SEELE Experimental Genesis station, where Keele was currently located.  
  
"We will continue with the plan as it is currently. The 18th will be released at the end of this week. There will be no further discussion on the timetable of the plan. Am I clear, Captain?" The Captain flinched at Keele's cold, uncaring voice. Nodding hurriedly, he backed his way carefully out of the room, not wanting to expose his back lest he find a knife buried in it.  
  
When the Captain was gone, Keele allowed himself a small smile at his antics. Keele could wait a week for the 18th to be done properly - after all, when you survive the hell of Second Impact, a week is nothing. Not to mention that Keele wanted his revenge on NERV to be completed properly... it's not every day when you're bid for completion is destroyed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
**About a week later**  
  
The skyline of Tokyo-3 lit suddenly before dawn as an explosion rocked the city. And over the roar of the blast, a harrowing sound that the city thought it had left behind began. The wailing of the Angel attack sirens filled the city streets, leaving the citizens to scramble to shelters as the city began to convert to battle mode.  
  
On the NERV command deck, an atmosphere of barely restrained panic reigned. Maya looked frantically at her board. "Commander Ikari! Strong blue light signature detected! It's definitely an Angel!" Makoto looked at her, then down at his board. "But it appeared out of nowhere... we had no warning before it fired on the city."  
  
Shigeru looked at his board, then up at Commander Ikari. "Sir, all three Evangelions can be readied for launch within 300 seconds. Do we proceed?" The response was swift and was coupled with a patented Ikari Smirkª. "Aa. Sortie all three EVA units immediately." The three lieutenants picked up phones and began calling the pilots.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
**Approximately 240 seconds later**  
  
"All right, you three. You will have pallet rifles, a positron cannon, halberds, an electromagnetic screen, and a progressive axe waiting for you at your emergence point. Ready?" Major Katsuragi's voice filtered through the plug speakers of the three teens to reach their ears. They each nodded and stated their readiness.  
  
"Hai. EVA-00, standing by."  
  
"EVA-01 standing by, Misato-san."  
  
"Evangelion Unit 2 standing by for launch."  
  
"All right, you three. Good luck. *LAUNCH!*" Crackles filled the cages as the electrified launch rails flung the three Evangelions toward the surface and the as-yet-unknown Angel.  
  
Upon reaching the surface, an umbilical was fixed into Unit 2. EVA-00 and -01 powered up their S2 engines and all three units proceeded towards the weapons cache. Shinji picked up a pallet rifle, Rei picked up the positron cannon, and Asuka wielded a halberd in one hand and the axe in the other. Side by side, they marched in lockstep towards the location of the angel.  
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Next time, on NGE: Second Genesis:  
The EVA team faces off against an angel that shouldn't even exist! Also, Touji returns to the Evangelion squadron with the newly-rebuilt Evangelion-03! Only on NGE: Second Genesis!  
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End Note: I'm sorry for the obscenely huge Author's Note in the beginning of this chapter. However, I wanted everyone to understand where I'm coming from when it comes to writing the character dialog of the story. It's really frustrating, because I simply can't manage to nail Asuka's character. But I'm getting closer, and hopefully I'll have it in a few more days. Also, I'm sorry it took a while to post this update. It's not a good thing to fail Spanish, which means I have to do homework on occasion.  
Please read and review!  
  
Your loving author (still in need of another line)  
Sithanas 


	4. Chapter 4: Synchronization II

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, an apology for not having posted an update so long while my rival posted four. Damn it John, when you update you need to tell me! But yeah, let's get back to my excuse. A couple weeks ago, my machine, Granite Mountain (It's a graphite G4, whaddya expect?), ate a bad system update and died from food- I mean software poisoning. It's still not operational. Damn system updates. So anyways, I'm borrowing my mom's machine to hopefully hammer out an update before she notices.  
  
A few things I noticed from my reviews that need to be addressed: First, my alleged OOC-ness. Robed One, I suggest you go back and *read* chapters one & two, and then re-read the author's note of three. As you'll notice, everyone but Asuka lines up with their character description. Asuka is the hardest of the NGE group to write for, and I'm still working on hers. But for the rest, I believe that they have been in fact in character. Also, I would be pleased if you could stick with reviewing my stories *only in my reviews* and not those of other peoples'. For instance, my rival, TheUnholyTerror. As I recollect, your review of his chapter 4 (magnificent work on the fanfic, terror, btw) seemed more like a shot at my "MASSIVE OOC" than a review of his work. Please, you have my email address. Just in case you don't want to look it up in my profile, you can have it here: tarimko@mac.com . If you want to talk about my "MASSIVE OOC", email me and we'll have a discussion. But repeating the same thing over and over doesn't help me, and I doubt it makes you feel any better.  
  
Second, the halberd. A halberd is in fact a two-handed weapon. However, that does not prevent it from being carried in one's off-hand while the other hand wields an axe. I see no reason why an Evangelion should be different.  
  
Third, my story length. As much as I'd like for my chapters to be longer, I tend to ramble whenever I write at length. This means my chapters are limited to about 1500 to 2000 words. I'm working on it, be patient.  
  
Fourth, the Eva 0 Prototype. Yes, it is new and it is still a prototype. In this instance, EVA-0 is the prototype for the new S2 engine powered Production Model Evangelion. You would want to test that big of a change before creating more, ne? Thus the prototype.  
  
Sorry for the length of this note, I really didn't intend to run this long. Now let's get on with the story!  
  
Your loving author,  
Sithanas  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Evangelion, so don't sue me. Besides, if you do, you won't get anything, for I have nothing. Not even a working computer.  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis  
Chapter 4: Synchronization II  
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The rising sun silhouetted three pseudo-human figures standing on the outskirts of Tokyo-3, holding various vicious-looking forms of weaponry. On some unspoken signal, they all faced into the city and began to move, proceeding towards the destruction at its center.  
  
In the city's center, a winged creature flew rapidly from building to building, wreaking chaos and damage wherever it landed. It grazed a tower and ripped ten floors clear off with its talons, giving an unearthly screech of satisfaction. To the three pilots who approached it, it looked remarkably like a silvery, glowing eagle. It perched on a building and they encircled it, making sure to remain about 30 meters away. Then the waiting began.  
  
Asuka's voice echoed unannounced in NERV's command deck. "Misato, why are we waiting here? It's not moving! We should kill it before it decides to do the same to us!"  
  
"We're waiting because we have no idea what it might do when we attack. We need the MAGI's analysis of what it might do before you can attack it."  
  
"I'm not going to wait behind an overgrown supercomputer so the Angel can leave while we stand here waiting! Evangelion Unit 2, engaging target!" Misato gasped as Asuka threw her axe at the angel and then, gripping the halberd in two hands, charged it, umbilical cable flying out behind her. She leapt into the air, coming down on the Angel in a power dive, halberd leading. And suddenly she impacted the building, and there was a flash of light- and EVA 2 went flying backwards into another nearby building, losing the halberd in the process. The Angel swept off of its perch, its wings unfolding, and its talons grabbing hold of Asuka as it powered up into the sky. Asuka's shoulder blade unfolded and the progressive knife popped out. She grabbed it and brought it to bear on the Angel, but before she could connect, another flash of light ripped the EVA's arm clear off at the shoulder. Gripping her shoulder, Asuka shouted at the Angel in fury and pounded at it with her other fist. It didn't seem to even notice as it continued upwards.  
  
On the ground, the other two Evangelion and NERV were trying to quickly figure out a course of action. Misato's voice came over the speakers of the EVAs.  
  
"All right you two, here's what we're going to do. You both have S2 engines, which means you don't need umbilicals. Unit 1 has its AT Field wings. Shinji, you need to activate them and persue Asuka and the Angel. Take as much weaponry as you feel you can safely use. Rei, your Unit 0 also has wings. Get ahead of the Angel and try to slow it or even knock it out of the sky. Minor damage to Unit 2 is acceptable, but avoid hitting or injuring Asuka. Now go!"  
  
EVA 1 quickly dropped its pallet rifle and grabbed a pallet pistol and a railgun from the weapons locker they had been sent. Orange wings shot from its back and it jumped up once and was gone. In addition to her positron cannon, Rei also grabbed a rocket launcher. As she focused, silvery wings appeared from the back of EVA 0. They fluttered gently and it was gone like a shot.  
  
Meanwhile, Asuka heard nothing as she was still in the Angel's grasp and thus out of communication range. She continued to pound at the Angel, to no effect. She even twisted around and fired the spike launcher in Unit 2's right shoulder blade. All she got for her efforts was a loud "ping" noise as the spikes bounced harmlessly off of the Angel's "skin" and fell to Earth.  
  
Suddenly, the sky around her turned orange and hexagonal, followed instantly by an explosive flash of light. Asuka recognized it as the impact of a positron charge on an AT Field. Before she had time to process the significance of this event, Shinji's voice crackled over her plug's speakers.  
  
"Asuka, Rei just fired on the Angel. Activate your AT Field and hang on!" She paused, a caustic reply on the tip of her tongue, as she realized that if she didn't do what Shinji was saying, she might be blown up with the Angel. She complied.  
  
Rei saw the orange wall of Asuka's AT Field shimmer into place. She didn't even pause as she swung the positron cannon into place on her EVA's arm and emptied its reservoir into the Angel's AT Field. The sky lit up with an explosion brighter than the sun, causing the plug's flare protection to activate. As the filters cleared, Rei saw a disappointing sight. The Angel still remained, intact. And she would have sworn that it looked pissed off.  
  
Shinji was concentrating on finding the best place to rail the Angel when he heard Rei's scream. He ducked under the targeting visor and looked at his screen. The Angel had ripped Unit 0's left arm off with one talon, and was using its beak to shred her wings. Asuka was still helpless, pounding futilely against the talon that encircled her. Without thinking, Shinji swept up the pallet pistol and emptied it at the Angel, then followed it with a single round from the railgun. Lightning crackled around its barrel as it released its pent-up energy into a single slug, accelerating it at near-light-speed into the Angel's head. Shinji waited for it to drop the EVAs so he could catch Asuka.  
  
Nothing happened. The Angel continued to exist, hanging there with both EVAs in its grasp. And it suddenly flashed brilliantly, and Shinji's world exploded.  
  
Asuka gasped as EVA-1 began its long fall to Earth, missing its head, both arms, and much of its upper body. As much as she disliked the weakling, she never wanted him dead. She never acknowledged it, but he had seemed almost family to her. An alarm snapped her back to awareness of her situation. Her EVA's battery pack had only one minute of power left in its reserves. She had to do something now, or she and Rei would join Shinji in the ranks of the dead. She concentrated, trying to use her AT Field as a wedge to drive the Angel off of her. But the Angel refused to be removed, corroding her AT Field easily. It dripped a tendril of its flesh onto EVA-2's chest plating, right above the core. A grab and a wrenching of metal, and Asuka was utterly helpless, her Evangelion's core exposed to the Angel. It could destroy her with one easy blast. But instead, it proceeded to dip the tendril *into* the core. A moment later, Asuka felt it touch her mind.  
  
Misato screamed as she saw Unit 1, missing the upper third of its body, slam into a nearby hilltop with the force of an N2 mine. She collapsed onto her knees as a ball of fire erupted from the explosive force, shattering a nearby building and vaporizing the hilltop.  
  
Asuka screamed as she felt the Angel corroding her mind. She flashed back to the 15th and what it had done to her. Her fists clenched around the handgrips of the plug's seat. She looked at her screen through the red haze that overtook her vision and growled through clenched teeth. "Not again... not again... I won't let this happen again... NOT AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?! GET OUT OF MY MIND!!!" Her rage exploded into her EVA, and the two became one.  
  
In the NERV command deck, Maya gave an astonished shout. "Commander Ikari! Evangelion 2 is reporting a synch ratio of fifteen hundred! Also reading high energy waveforms consistent with an S2 engine, but with pattern red! EVA-2 has gone berserker!" Everyone looked to the screen as one, just in time to see the Tokyo-3 sky light up as if the sun had gone nova. Unit 0 dropped from the center of the blast, catching itself at the last possible second and dropping gently to the ground. It was followed by EVA-2, dropping slowly from the sky, suspended by two blood-red wings. It gently touched down and then collapsed, its wings disappearing with the loss of power. Makoto looked at his board, then turned to face the commander.  
  
"Unit 2 has succeeded in destroying the target. Life signs confirmed for Units 0, 2, and both pilots. Unit 2 has lost all power. Unit 1 is... " He paused, searching for words. "Sir, we have no telemetry from Evangelion Unit 01." Misato stood back up, her eyes red from crying but back in control.  
  
"Until evidence of the contrary, Evangelion unit 01 is to be presumed functional and active. Dispatch recovery teams for all three Evangelions. Maya, I want you to have the MAGI go over the data collected from Unit 2's beserker. Compare it with the data we have on Unit 1. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my office." She turned towards the exit and left.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This is the Evangelion Unit 1 recovery team reporting in. Life signs confirmed for both the Evangelion and its pilot. The pilot is being transferred to the NERV infirmary. Recovery team, out." The words startled Misato out of her reverie. She was lying on the couch in her office, crying silently. Despite her words on the command deck, she had believed that her Shinji-kun was lost until she heard the team's report. Not even bothering to wipe her tears, she jumped up and dashed to the infirmary.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shinji was enclosed in one of the intensive care pressure hoods, its monitors steadily reporting his condition to his small audience. The impact of his EVA and the subsequent explosion had shattered the entry plug and boiled the LCL, fracturing two of his ribs and burning him severely across his chest. He had also suffered neural shock from the intense damage to the EVA while he was still in synch. It would probably be a few months recovery.  
  
Rei sat in a chair by the side of Shinji's bed, just as she had when he had been injured in battle with the fifth. She watched him closely, noting the steady movements of his chest as he breathed. Misato was asleep in a chair on the other side of the bed. She had been there for almost ten hours, her and Rei dosing in one-hour shifts. They were keeping watch until he awoke. Rei studied both Misato and Shinji while they slept. She was unsure of her feelings towards either of them. She wasn't even sure why she had chosen to come here and watch over Shinji. It was not a feeling she was used to. As she thought, Misato stirred and woke, forcing her to return to the world at hand.  
  
"Rei, I'll watch him. You should go back to your quarters and get a proper night's rest."  
  
"Hai, Major Katsuragi. Good night."  
  
"Good night, Rei."  
  
Misato sat there for a few hours after Rei had left, thinking about how much the presence of Shinji Ikari in her life had come to mean to her. He and Asuka were like her children, the family she never had, and she loved both of them very much. She smiled softly at him and whispered "Good night, Shinji-kun." Standing slowly and stretching, she slipped out of the room and headed back to her apartment. She knew it would seem empty with both children in the infirmary, but she had to feed Pen-Pen, and besides, it would be good to take her own advice. She was tired, after all - it had been an early morning and a long day.  
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Next time, on NGE: Second Genesis:  
Touji returns to the Evangelion squadron with the new EVA-03! (No, he really does this time!) Also, meet the Sixth Child, and EVA-04! Only on NGE: Second Genesis!  
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End Note: By the time I managed to get to the last section of this chapter, I managed to repair my machine! Yay! So now I'll be able to update faster. Hopefully I can catch up to my rival before the end of spring break, but at the rate I'm going it's not bloody likely. I'm sorry for not including the return of Touji in this chapter like I said I would. I can't find a place for it in this chapter. That's the problem with writing previews - you gotta be able to actually fulfill them. Also, Asuka is still a bit OOC. I honestly have problems handling her character. Tips are welcome. And finally, I'm considering pre-reading. Does it work? Is it any good? Is it even worth it? I'd be grateful if someone could tell me.  
  
Please read and review!  
  
Your loving author (who's given up on finding another closing line)  
Sithanas 


	5. Chapter 5: Assault

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, this is the third time around for this chapter. I've been writing and re-writing this over the past couple weeks. Here's to the hope that this try actually works out.  
  
Thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews of Chapter 4. I hope this chapter isn't a regression.  
  
Your loving author (who amazingly enough had a short note!),  
Sithanas  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Eva. Don't sue me cause that's not nice.  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis  
Chapter 5: Assault  
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**One week after the 18th Angel**  
  
Misato Katsuragi paced back and forth in her office. In a chair on the other side of her desk sat one of the three "bridge bunnies" - Lt. Maya Ibuki. Misato turned to face her and opened her mouth to speak. "What's the prognosis on our EVA units?"  
  
"EVA-01 has been severely damaged. We found the head yesterday, so we will be able to reactivate, and the core is mostly intact, thankfully. Section two is estimating that it will take perhaps a month of work to restore it to operational status.  
  
"Unit 02 survived the combat intact except for the loss of some of the chest armor plating. We've replaced the armor and it is fully functional - all we need is the pilot. Unit 00 suffered minor damage to the upper body and left arm, it'll be fixed in a week."  
  
Misato's expression looked grim. "So if SEELE attacks or we encounter another Angel, we're screwed. What about the new EVA units?"  
  
"The new EVA-03 and EVA-04 have been completed and are undergoing testing at NERV-05 in Israel. Both the Fourth and Sixth children are on-site."  
  
"What about the other children?"  
  
"We have candidates for up to the Tenth Children. For the children we have on-site, their health is somewhat shaky. Pilot Ikari is recovering slowly but steadily. Pilot Sorhyu is undergoing psychiatric evaluation, but we have every confidence that she will be cleared for duty. Pilot Ayanami is fully ready for duty and is only awaiting her EVA's repair."  
  
"So let's see if I can sum this up. Our only working EVA has no pilot, and the two other working units haven't been tested and are half a day away anyways!" She collapsed into her chair behind her desk with a bleak expression. "God, we're fucked."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Good afternoon Mr. Keel and welcome to the Japan Heavy Chemical Industrial production facility. I am the manager of this facility. My name is Toya Hirogume. If you would please follow me, we can begin our tour whenever you are ready." Lorenz Keel, the man behind the SEELE-01 monolith, allowed the manager to shake his hand and motioned for his guards to fall in as they proceeded forward through the factory. The first stop on the tour was a metal stamping facility, where gigantic armor plates were machined out of 3-inch-thick pieces of titanium. This was followed by chemical treatment, hardening, wiring, weapons manufacture, and finally skeletal assembly. The last stop on the tour was the top-floor observation deck of a 30-story room, where they awaited the appearance of the completed machine.  
  
They were not disappointed.  
  
A small smirk danced around Chairman Keel's lips as a 150-meter tall robot entered the room from one side. It looked as if it was wearing a gigantic backpack, and its armor was glossy white. Stamped across the front in bold, black print were two letters: J A. Underneath that, the full product name was stenciled on. It read "Jet Alone".  
  
Keel turned to the plant manager, his face once again cold. "How many of these units can be produced within... let's say ninety-six hours?"  
  
"Please allow me to check." He turned to a display, punched in a few numbers. "We can produce approximately four fully-equipped Jet Alone units in that amount of time."  
  
"Good. Please proceed to do so. We will contact you when the time is up with instructions for delivery." He inclined his head to the manager, who bowed deeply. "Thank you for this tour. It was very... enlightening." Keel motioned to his guards. "Gentlemen, we should be going. I believe we do have a plane to catch."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
**Approximately four days later**  
  
One would expect the Israeli desert to be rather quiet at oh-three-hundred hours. And in most places you would look, it is. But in a place most people would consider the middle of nowhere, an oasis of light, sound, and civilization heralded the existence of one of man's most secure facilities: NERV-05. Hidden in one of the last places anyone in either their right or their wrong mind would look, it contained two of humanity's most advanced combat weapons - EVAs 03 and 04. Also on site were the two pilots for the aforementioned devices. EVA-03 had retained its original pilot, a Japanese teenager by the name of Touji Suzuhara. He had been gifted with cloned limbs to replace those lost in the original activation of 03, and was now perfectly capable of piloting its namesake. However, EVA-04's pilot was completely unknown to any of the Tokyo-3 teenagers. He was a fairly normal-looking American fifteen-year-old - olive skin, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and about 5'10" - in other words, average. However, anyone engaging him in conversation would discover quite rapidly that, like all the other chosen, he was crazy in his own special way. His name was Jack Kramer.  
  
At the moment, NERV-05 was at a rather relaxed state of operations. The Evangelion units were slated to undergo synchronization testing with their pilots at fourteen-hundred-hours, and there was nothing else significant on the itinerary. The elite Israeli troops guarding the base were kicking back, trading dirty jokes, cold beers, and cheap pornographic magazines among one another. The pilots were relaxing in their quarters, trying to catch some sleep before the day's work began. All in all, the base was pretty easygoing - a rarity. Unfortunately for its personnel, its state of alert was about to change rather rapidly.  
  
At fifteen minutes past oh-three-hundred, a gargantuan explosion lit up the night sky. The blast cloud mushroomed out into the distinctive shape of a N2 mine detonation, and alarms howled into the night. Drunk soldiers were instantly sober, rushing to combat positions as they readied for the inevitable incoming troops. They were not disappointed. Large airborne troop carriers, painted stealth black and equipped with heat baffles to foil infrared detectors, began to appear over the horizon. A streak of light shot from the ground, intercepting one carrier and annihilating it in a spectacular fireball. The momentary victory was *very* short lived as a second, less powerful N2 mine flattened the Sprint SAM launchers responsible for the kill. As the first of the carriers touched down, black-suited soldiers began to stream towards the entrances to the NERV-05 complex like a multi-limbed river of death.  
  
Jack woke up as he hit the floor, hard. He didn't have time to linger over the interesting circumstances of his awakening though, as the scream of klaxons drove him into immediate action. Grabbing his gun (A pre-Second Impact H&K .45 caliber pistol that had been left to him by his late father) and strapping it around his waist, he burst from his room, nearly running into Touji as he followed suit. He didn't even pause to talk, just took off running towards the EVA cage. Touji, having the same basic idea, followed.  
  
As he ran, Jack shouted to Touji. "Those klaxons are the enemy attack alarms. They have to be after our EVAs. Screw synch tests - we need to activate them now. Agreed?"  
  
"Definitely. There's no way we can let SEELE get their hands on the EVAs." As they rounded the corner, they saw Israeli solders grouping up around the entrance to the cage, apparently with the same thoughts in mind. They let the teens through, one of them tossing them both plug suits and another tossing Touji a Desert Eagle .50 AE. Ducking behind a wall out of site of the others, Jack simply unstrapped the gunbelt, pulled off his sleeping attire (boxers and a t-shirt), donned the white plugsuit with "04" stenciled on its chest, and restrapped the belt around his waist once again. He emerged from his cover to find Touji also changed into his black plugsuit with its "03". They both nodded, then ran for their Evangelions.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Four hours away in Tokyo-3, the situation wasn't much more relaxed.  
  
Alarms blared on the command deck, startling Hyuga - he was the only one on deck when they began to howl. However, he wasn't alone for long. Within five minutes, the full bridge complement had reported for duty, complete with Major Katsuragi. She turned to face him.  
  
"Status report!"  
  
"Good morning. At approximately zero-seven-fifteen hours this morning, we lost all communications with NERV-05 in Israel. The last signal we received mentioned an explosion, with readings similar to a N2 detonation. We cannot be sure whether they have been destroyed or are just being jammed. However, this is cause for serious alarm, as we have also lost contact with all of our orbital observation satellites in that region as well. The last readings indicated anomalous radar signatures." Misato frowned.  
  
"Isn't NERV-05 the base where EVAs -03 and -04 are located?" Aoba fielded the question.  
  
"Yes ma'am. Both Evangelions, along with their pilots, are located there."  
  
"So it's probably SEELE moving in to try and capture them. Ibuki! What's the status on our EVAs?"  
  
"Evangelion units -00 and -02 are available for immediate launch. We can scramble both in 500 seconds." Misato nodded and turned to face the raised platform where Commander Ikari was seated.  
  
"Sir, I'm requesting clearance to dispatch our Evangelions as backup for the two units already on-site at NERV-05."  
  
"I see no reason to refuse. You may proceed, Major Katsuragi."  
  
"Thank you sir." She rushed from the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The thunderous roar of 16 ionic jet engines shattered the silence of a Tokyo-3 morning as a pair of black EVA transports lifted off, angling sharply towards Israel. Asuka and Rei listened closely to their purple-haired Operations Director as she briefed them on the situation.  
  
"We lost contact with the Israeli branch of NERV early this morning - about 3 A.M. their time. Our last readings indicated unidentified radar signatures heading towards the complex and what looked like a N2 mine detonation. We've had no communications since. The complex contains both EVA-03 and EVA-04. Pretty much anything is possible, but the most likely occurrence at the moment is an attack by SEELE. Expect the worst. You've each been equipped with a positron rifle and a pallet pistol. These are your only weapons, in addition to your knives of course. We have no reloads, so shoot wisely and don't miss. Our primary goal is to extract EVAs 03 and 04 along with their pilots. In the case of being unable to complete that goal, we must destroy those EVAs. Under no circumstances can SEELE gain control of them. Understood?"  
  
Rei stared calmly back into Misato's eyes. "Understood, ma'am." Her face winked out.  
  
Asuka tossed her hair and smiled slightly. "Roger. EVA-02, standing by." Her picture disappeared as well.  
  
Misato sighed. She was glad that they were both ready and able to fight, but it just didn't seem right without Unit 01 and Shinji. She tossed off a silent prayer for his health and fast recovery, then turned her full attention to planning the defense of NERV-05.  
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Next time, on NGE: Second Genesis:  
Combat as Rei and Asuka arrive on the scene of NERV-05's frantic defense! Also, witness the fearsome power of the production model Jet Alone series! Only on NGE: Second Genesis!  
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End Note: I'm really sorry it took me so long to publish this chapter of NGE: SG. I had *so* much trouble thinking up a workable storyline for this chapter. I tossed so many different things back and forth before finally hitting this one when I was way to tired to have any proper thoughts. And you know what? It worked.  
  
Worried that Shinji won't come back? Don't be! He'll be back in the mix in a few chapters, after he's had time for those nasty injuries to heal.  
  
I'll try to post Chapter 6 faster than I posted this one, but if I were you I wouldn't hold your breath. Gomen!  
  
Please read and review!  
  
Your loving author,  
Sithanas 


	6. Chapter 6: Resistance

AUTHOR'S NOTE: After more rewrites than I could possibly imagine, Chapter 6 finally sees the light of day! I'm gonna try to stick to a more regular production schedule for the future, since I don't have finals and such to screw me up anymore. *Hears hysterical laughter in the background* Hey, I said I'd *try*!  
  
Note to all readers of NGE: Limits - I'm gonna be posting a new chapter sometime within the week. God, darkfics are much harder to write than I thought they were. That one's been rewritten at least twice as many times as this. For those of you that haven't read it, do so!  
  
Note about this chapter: This revised draft is completely different from what it was originally supposed to be. As a result, it's quite a bit longer, and changes a bit of storyline (can anyone say EoE?). Enjoy!  
  
Your loving author, Sithanas  
  
DISCLAIMER: Yes, I own Neon Genesis Evangelion. Yep. No kidding. And if you believed that, I know a very good psychologist who could use a little business.  
  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis Chapter 6: Resistance  
  
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Gunfire pinged through the corridors at NERV-05 as SEELE troops poured into the building. Fortunately for the defending forces, the facility had been designed with the Israeli mindset for security firmly in hand. Heavy armored doors slammed into place throughout the base, sealing both NERV and SEELE personnel in place. Then, like some sort of divine retribution, the NERV troops attacked. Black-suited enemy were cut down by tens, their shocked expressions evident even in death. No one had accounted for the fact that NERV-05 was staffed by Israeli personnel - the same people that successfully resisted more attacks in the sixty-seven years of their country's existence than any other in the world. They didn't stand a chance.  
  
Inside command it was much quieter - no enemy troops had even come close to breaking through. Calm personnel handled consoles, dealing with reports and systems damaged in attacks cooly and collectedly. Quiet voices murmured throughout the single-level chamber as the counterattack began to gain ground. And among it all, a single voice chimed through, capturing attention from nearly everyone in the room.  
  
"This is Evangelion Unit 4 calling NERV-05 control, please respond...EVA-04 to control, please respond..."  
  
"EVA-04, this is control."  
  
"This is Evangelion Unit 4, requesting immediate emergency launch through Route Five. Over." The commander of NERV-05 turned towards the nearest person manning a console.  
  
"Is the pilot authorized?"  
  
"Neural patterns confirm the pilot of EVA-04 to be its assigned pilot, Jack Kramer."  
  
"Clear it for launch."  
  
"EVA-04, this is control. You are cleared for launch on Route Five. Have a good time."  
  
"Control, this is EVA-04. Thank you, and a good time it is. Evangelion out."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack leaned back in the plug and concentrated, willing his Evangelion to synchronize with him. Brilliant colors flashed around him as he felt the EVA brush his mind. The plug walls flashed white for a fraction of a second, then settled on the walls of the cage as he was loaded into a catapult. An electrical crackle told him he was about to be launched. He grimaced in pain as he was pressed into his chair, gravity frantically trying to reclaim him as he flew towards the sky. Suddenly, the pain fell away as he was snapped abruptly to a stop. He had reached the surface. Alarms began to ring inside his cockpit as targets (outlined in flashing red) began to pop up all over his screens. He gave a feral grin, delighted at the sheer multitude of enemies. He strode towards the closest, a heavy-duty portable anti-aircraft missile launcher. Its crew looked up just in time to see a gigantic white foot descending towards them from the sky.  
  
*CRUNCH*  
  
Jack's grin got even wider as the target blew up rather spectacularly against the bottom of his foot, all of its warheads detonating simultaneously. It was a warm breeze to the armor of his Evangelion. He turned towards a mass of VTOL aircraft, which seemed rather shaken by the ease with which he demolished a heavy vehicle. Jack licked his lips in anticipation. This was going to be fun. He strode forwards.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Touji Suzuhara felt his head snap backwards as his EVA slammed to a halt, having reached the end of Route 5. He looked around, taking note of his surroundings. EVA-04 was advancing on a group of fighters with a rather menacing grin on its face. Touji willed the comm system to life and addressed Jack.  
  
"Oi, Kramer! Leave some for me, would ya?" Jack's voice was nearly a snarl.  
  
"If you want some, Suzuhara, you better get your ass in gear and come get them. These are mine." An AT Field sprang forward from EVA-04, turning three fighters into fireballs. Touji nodded and crouched down low. A second later, he sprung into the air, executing a forward rolling flip that landed him directly on a pair of tanks. They crushed under his feet, emitting twin earsplitting crunches. He smiled. "Hey, this is fun!"  
  
"Isn't it though? Come on, there's a tank battalion coming in over that hill that could use our *personal* touch, don't you think?"  
  
"Yes... yes, I do indeed."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Misato, in the cockpit of a NERV Command/Carry transport, reached forward to a console and tapped two keys, labeled "Comm System" and "ON". A pair of communications windows popped into existence in the air in front of her, one showing the placid face of Rei Ayanami, the other framing the red-headed devil herself.  
  
"Asuka, Rei, prepare to activate your EVAs. We're approaching the drop zone, we should be there in about ten minutes. Asuka, I want you to wait until right before deployment to activate. Even with the external batteries, you're only going to have a half hour of deployment, so be careful. As soon as you're on the ground, deploy your weapons. Up to two EVAs may already be on the scene - remember to at least listen to them, as they've already grasped the situation in far greater detail than we have." She stared pointedly at Asuka. "And no rushing off into a charge - either of you. Clear?" Rei nodded, while Asuka tossed off a sarcastic "Yes, ma'am." Misato nodded.  
  
"You'll get an automated warning when there's one minute to launch. Asuka, activate then. Rei, activate your EVA now. Both of you, we drop in ten minutes. Good luck." She pushed the off button and the comm windows blinked out of existence.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Attention pilots, one minute until airdrop, repeat one minute." Asuka willed her EVA to life as the mechanical voice sounded in her ears. Rainbow shimmers flashed around her, finally settling on the dull, metallic restraints of the EVA transport. The same voice echoed again.  
  
"Attention pilots, airdrop now commencing." A *click*, a *whirr*, and then Evangelion Unit 2 was falling earthwards, EVA-00 right beside it (actually, a little down and left, to be exact). Asuka's grin was feral as she dropped. She was the best pilot, better than all of them, even Baka-Shinji, and she'd show everyone! Just like last time! She tightened her grip on the Positron Rifle, Mark III in her hand, and her smile softened. 'I cannot be defeated! Mama is watching over me!'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A fresh alarm prompted Jack to look up from the task of stomping on every tank in sight before Touji could get to them. He squinted, bringing up the magnification on his scanners. Two dots in the sky resolved into a pair of Evangelion, falling towards him - fast. He poked Unit 3 not-so-gently in the shoulder and then pointed upwards. Touji followed his lead, his voice crackling over the comm a second later.  
  
"I see them."  
  
"They friendly?"  
  
"I think so - I recognize the red one from when I was in Japan. That's EVA-02 - Asuka Langley Sorhyu. The other one looks sort of like EVA-00, but that had only one eye... I'm not quite sure."  
  
"Well, according to my comp, they're gonna be in comm range in less than thirty seconds. If they don't announce themselves, I'm intending to run them through, friendly or not. Kramer out." Suzuhara's comm window vanished from Jack's cockpit.  
  
Thirty seconds later, two new comm windows flashed into Jack's cockpit. One contained a pale, blue haired girl, the other a fiery redhead. Blue spoke first.  
  
"This is Evangelion Unit 0, providing assistance."  
  
"EVA-02 here, ready to save your sorry asses. Who do I get to rescue?"  
  
"I don't know about rescuing anyone, but I'm Jack Kramer, and Mr. Clumsy over there (Touji had just tripped over a heavy tank, completely destroying it in the process) is Touji Suzuhara. If you really want to, I guess you could rescue him-" Asuka cut him off.  
  
"I should have figured the stooge would be here. Pilots just as well as I thought he would, too."  
  
"I love you too, Asuka."  
  
"Ugh, I hope not! When I get out of here I'm kicking your ass, hentai!"  
  
"Oh, go fuck youself-" Rei cut them off this time. Her voice was as calm and collected as always.  
  
"I am picking up four incoming targets, approximately half a kilometer north of our positions. They appear to be mecha, but are not giving off any energy emissions similar to Evangelion units."  
  
"EVA-04 to NERV-05 control. Do you see them?"  
  
"Control to EVA Series. Targets confirmed, oh-point-five kilometers north of base. Scans report no AT Fields, S2 emissions, or any defining characteristics of Angels or Evangelion. Sending weapons to surface via Route 5. Proceed at your discretion. Control out." A weapons locker snapped into place on the surface, slipping open to reveal a deliciously violent collection of weapons. Jack stepped forward and grabbed a progressive sword and a sleek, deadly-looking cylinder. Touji picked up a pair of pallet rifles. Asuka traded her positron cannon for a hypervelocity gun, while Rei stuck with her Positron Cannon, Mark III. Jack spoke up.  
  
"All right, everyone set? Got enough guns? Good. Let's go." Turning towards the north, the four Evangelion strode off into battle, like gunfighters from an age long gone.  
  
Well, minus the horses.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
SEELE's four Jet Alone units turned towards the south and marched towards NERV-05, hoping to consolidate their master's victory. They had no fear of defeat, no fear of pain, and no fear of any enemy. Their autopilots fought with pure logic - there was no way they could lose.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The four EVA Series units strode calmly north, confident in their power. They were the best fighting machines in the world, with the ultimate power of the AT Field at their disposal. They had defeated God's messengers, so what could man-made mecha do? There was no way they could lose.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In the first rays of the dawn light, two immovable sides calmly strode towards each other, neither willing to give ground or take "no" for an answer. The desert air crackled with tension as the observers of both sides waited, each praying for their side to emerge victorious. Only time would tell.  
  
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Next time, on NGE: Second Genesis: Clash of the Titans as JA meets EVA in live combat! Will the EVAs crush Jet Alone, or will the battle spell the end of NERV-05? Find out, only on NGE: Second Genesis!  
  
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End Note: This was written in the course of one day, after... I think it was the tenth rewrite... or was it the eleventh? Doesn't matter. This was originally a one-part chapter, but the revisions gave it an extended opening that pushed it to become a two-parter, making the whole NERV-05 section either a total of three or four parts - I haven't decided yet.  
  
Note to friends that I've promised to insert: If you're reading this, I promise you'll make it in eventually! It'll probably be a chapter or two late though.  
  
With luck, I may actually put another chapter up before I go on vacation from July 5th to July 12th. Don't hold your breath though.  
  
Please read and review!  
  
Your loving author, Sithanas  
  
PS: About the slight change in formatting - it's not voluntary. Apparently FF.net's .txt interpreter is fscked up and only allowing paragraphs in files, not just single returns. Bastards. 


	7. Chapter 7: Purpose

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Damn, am I losing my readers or what? I remember getting about four reviews per chapter before, which was nothing compared to what Limits gets, but it's still good. But it seems to have hit an all-time low, methinks. So what I'm saying is, do you people really want NGE: SG to continue? Hell, I'm gonna keep writing it either way, but if the answer is no then I'm going to let this be superseded by a few other projects that garner more attention. To put it simply, that means my posts will get even more intermittent. Good thing? Bad thing? Only the reviews can tell.  
  
Enjoy Chapter 7!  
  
Your loving author,  
  
Sithanas  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Evangelion, or any other anime I draw from. I also am sorta lacking in the ownership of this thing called "money", so suing me is kinda pointless. Yeah. Donations to a "poor, starving author" are always welcome though! Eheheheh.  
  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis  
  
Chapter 7: Purpose  
  
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"The enemy is approaching. I see them." Rei's calm tones shattered the silence of the four Evangelion. They had chosen to stake out an area about 1/3 of a kilometer from NERV-05. Jack had taken the time to scratch "Custer's Last Stand" crudely into the sand with the toe of his EVA. As it was in English, only he and Asuka understood it, though they privately suspected that Rei really did and was just not saying anything. After he had finished, he had laughed while Asuka muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "baka baka". Even that gallows humor had fled now as they crouched behind dunes, waiting. From the north, four crude humanoid shapes slowly advanced, their footsteps falling at regular intervals. Ten seconds later, Asuka gave a gasp of surprise as the lettering on the front resolved into full view, as Rei muttered the name out loud.  
  
"Jet Alone..." Jack's eyes widened.  
  
"Hey, I heard about those. Weren't they supposed to compete with the EVA Series for combat with Angels?" Asuka fielded the question.  
  
"They were supposed to have been discontinued after the prototype ran amok and nearly wasted a city." Touji broke in.  
  
"There's an awful lot of them for something that was 'discontinued'. It has to be more SEELE equipment."  
  
"Congratulations, Fourth Child, you've just figured out the obvious. Want to try for two out of two?"  
  
"Oh, go stuff it up your as-" Rei silenced them both.  
  
"Quiet. They have detected us." Sure enough, the four JA units were standing in a straight line, shoulder to shoulder, facing the dunes behind which the EVAs hid. Panels on the shoulders of the units popped open, sliding up and out of the way to reveal conical tips. Jack stared at them, squinting, wondering what they represented. Too late, he realized.  
  
"Holy shit, those are missile tubes! DODGE!" They fired. Streaks of fire blasted from the shoulders into the dunes. Sand, now partially melted into glass, scattered everywhere the eye could see. The four EVAs were tossed into the air, thrown in separate directions. The JA units split up, each one closing in on an Evangelion.  
  
Jack sat up, clutching his head. "Oww... that hurt, dammit!" He looked up to see a silvery-white hand closing in on him. He rolled to the side, barely managing to dodge in time. He stumbled to his feet, taking stock of his condition. Looking around, he could see the other three EVAs in similar situations. 'Oh, this is not good. Not good at all. Let's see, what kind of autopilots would they have... not dummy plugs, those require EVAs... gotta be logical computers. So all we have to do is be totally illogical...' Grabbing his sword, he flung it out in front of him and activated the power. He charged the Jet Alone. Reacting logically, it flung its arm out, trying to straightarm him. At the last possible second, Jack willed EVA-04 to jump, landing precisely on the JA's arm. It looked vaguely surprised in a robotic way, even more so as he flipped over its head, conveniently using the tip of the progsword as a pivot point...  
  
The JA unit collapsed as its head exploded into shrapnel, hitting the ground rather hard. Jack landed rather evenly on his feet, crouching to absorb the impact. Standing again, he bounded forward to assist Touji in EVA-03, who was currently being tossed over his JA's shoulder.  
  
Asuka grabbed the "neck" of her JA and twisted, grinning wolfishly as it gave a satisfying *snap* and broke in her hands. Releasing it, she kicked it hard, sending it falling backwards into the desert sand. She pressed the barrel of her hypervelocity gun against the unit's chest and fired. The gun hummed as it blasted the JA unit with superaccellerated particles, punching a gigantic hole through its chest panels, severing its main power linkages. It fell silent.  
  
Rei calmly backhanded the JA unit. Its head snapped back. As it tried to reorient itself, she raised the positron rifle and fired. A burst of white energy slammed the unit out of this existence, along with a fair bit of desert sand. Rei lowered the rifle, pushing its barrel into the sand and leaving it standing there.  
  
Touji stood up, ramming both of his rifles into the head of his unit and pulling the triggers. Both the head and the barrels exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction. The JA unit fell, landing with an unceremonious crash. The battlefield was silent - the EVAs had won.  
  
Jack was first to shatter the silence. "That was too easy. There's no way that's all of it. Those things were no match for us, and SEELE has to know that. All they're doing is wasting our time with foreplay." Asuka's response was typical for "the red devil".  
  
"Idiot. Of course they're not stupid! Are you under some obligation to state the obvious? God, you're just another stooge after all." Rei's visage appeared in their entry plugs.  
  
"I agree with Pilot Kramer. The attack will continue. SEELE has the capability to produce Angels. They will most likely send the Nineteenth against us."  
  
"Okay, so now that we have *Wondergirl's* opinion, we can do something, is that it?" Asuka's voice dripped sarcasm. Touji took this as his opportunity to speak up.  
  
"Look, we don't need to fight. We have to make sure that we're ready for whatever's next up." An outside voice cut Asuka off before she could spit a vile retort.  
  
"NERV-05 to EVA Series. There is a blue signature closing on your position. ETA 39 seconds. Recommend raising AT Fields. Over." Asuka answered for all.  
  
"Evangelion Unit 02 to NERV-05. We copy blue signature. Recommend that if you want to give recommendations, you get your own ass into one of these plugs and try it on for size out here on the field. As if we couldn't think of AT Fields on our own. If you're going to tell us to do something, make it important. EVA-02 out." The channel closed. Jack gave her a withering look.  
  
"Was that *absolutely* necessary?"  
  
"Yes, it was. At least Misato was smart enough to leave the obvious out of it." Rei broke into the conversation.  
  
"The time for argument has passed. The nineteenth approaches." Indeed, a worm-like Angel was flying towards them, low to the ground, approaching at an impressive rate of speed. When it reached about 100 yards of distance, it stopped. Asuka gasped.  
  
"It looks like the sixteenth..." Rei drew in a sharp breath.  
  
"It's coming." The Angel shot forward, slamming through EVA-00's AT Field as if it was a piece of orange, hexagonal plastic wrap. But unlike the sixteenth, it didn't attempt to invade. It plunged forth, pulled a neat core of flesh from the EVA, and pulled back to it's original distance. Rei closed her eyes and concentrated, and a second later, her EVA had regenerated. Touji looked puzzled.  
  
"The hell was that for?" No one had time to answer him. The Angel began to bubble, flesh changing shape, reintegrating itself into a different form. Fifteen seconds later, Touji had his answer. One hundred yards away stood a perfect clone of Evangelion Unit 00. Unbidden, he accurately summed up the situation with two words.  
  
"Well, fuck." It was as if Touji's expletive goaded fate into making a bad situation worse. The EVA clone let out a tremendous roar and charged EVA-03. It slammed bodily into it, sending it roughly to the desert sands. Pulling a progressive knife from its shoulder compartment, it stabbed down. Touji barely managed to evade the blade, rolling to the side. He called into his comm.  
  
"I could use a little help here!" Asuka stepped forward to assist.  
  
"Stooge." She delivered an elegant high kick to the clone, snapping its head back. It turned its attentions to her, growling low. Asuka snapped her right arm straight up. A staff slipped out of the forearm holster, expanding to full size as she caught it. She held it diagonally in front of her, ready to face off against the clone EVA. Its eyes flashed, and it charged. EVA-02 dug its staff into the sand and jumped, pole-vaulting over the clone's head as it stampeded forward. As soon as she landed, Asuka swung the staff in a vicious arc, directly to the clone's head. It met it mid-swing with the progknife. Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed for dominance.  
  
In the meantime, the other pilots had not been standing still. Both EVA-00 and EVA-03 had deployed their progressive knives, while EVA-04 had shifted its progressive sword into a two-hand offensive grip, the cylinder it carried affixed to a magnetic seal on its thigh. Rei held her knife by the blade, aimed carefully, and threw. It lodged itself directly in the back of the clone's head. It fell like newly cut timber, landing in the sand with a heavy thud. The momentary victory was short-lived. With a sickening *slurp*, the knife slipped out of the EVA's skull as it regenerated. It stood, reached down, and picked up the knife. Now holding two knives, it gave a menacing growl.  
  
While it had lain, the other EVAs had shifted. They now surrounded the clone. Rei was wielding the positron cannon, Asuka held her staff, and Touji and Jack still held their progressive weapons. Rei calmly leveled the cannon at the EVA and fired. The positron fire was useless, repelled by the clone's AT Field. Dropping the rifle, she too pulled her staff from its sheath. On an unspoken signal, the four EVAs charged. The clone grinned... and disappeared. Jack looked up and saw it falling towards them. He only had time for a brief shout before it crashed down.  
  
As the clone hit, its feet crushed the skull of EVA-03. Dark red blood sprayed forth, splattering over the sands. Seconds later, the plug cover popped off and Touji's entry plug shot forth, landing several hundred yards away. The clone leapt up and bounded for EVA-04, which snapped its arms straight. The progsword cleanly skewered the clone, sliding neatly through the chest. Jack squeezed a button on one of his control handles and the blade of the sword exploded, shrapnel shredding the fragile organs of the EVA. The resulting mess known as "clone" bought the three remaining EVAs time to retreat and regroup. Unfortunately, the clone possessed an unearthly ability to adapt. Their time was short.  
  
Asuka was the first to speak.  
  
"We have a problem. I have only five minutes of battery life left." Jack nodded.  
  
"We have more problems than that. Look at how it's fighting. It's learning from how we combat it. If this keeps up, we won't even have a chance of defeating it. We have to finish it now."  
  
"Well, I hope you have an idea, Mr. Gung-ho." Rei spoke up.  
  
"I believe I know how to defeat it. I believe that when it cloned my EVA, it also cloned the synch of the pilot. It fights as if it were a dummy plug. Thus, we can defeat it." Asuka looked surprised.  
  
"If it cloned your synch, how can it be a dummy?"  
  
"I am- was the core of the Dummy System." Asuka looked at her with great distaste.  
  
"How come you're not all psychopathic then? One of those dummies ripped another EVA apart!"  
  
"The dummy is an incomplete personality. As such, it is susceptible to outside influence. If I can contact its core, I can shut it down." Jack nodded again.  
  
"I understand. EVA-04 will back you up."  
  
"EVA-02 will back you as well."  
  
"It appears to have regenerated fully. Let us commence." Jack willed himself to stand. He pulled his staff, nodded to Asuka, and charged. She joined him. The EVA clone stood there, arms apart, a knife in each hand. It flipped the blades to its hands and threw the knives, one at each EVA. At the last second, Asuka and Jack dodged, throwing their staves forward. They slammed through the EVA's breast plates, pinning it to the sand. It reached forward and began to try and pull them out. It did not have time to complete its task. Rei, having pulled her staff moments earlier, leapt into the air and brought it down squarely into the clone's core. It slammed straight through. Rei concentrated. A tendril of flesh pored down the length of the staff, bridging the gap between EVA-00 and the clone. She shuddered as her mind made contact with the Angel.  
  
**Who are you?**  
  
**I am the mother of all things. You are not one of my creations.**  
  
**You are Rei Ayanami. Pilot of the prototype. The enemy. I must destroy you.**  
  
**But you are me. How can you destroy yourself?**  
  
**I am not you. I am like you. I share your perceptions, but that does not make me you.**  
  
**If my perceptions are your own, than how do you perceive yourself?**  
  
**I... am an abomination. I am a falsehood, a misrepresentation of what cannot be duplicated. I am... unclean. I should not exist, but yet I do.**  
  
**Yes. You are a dummy. But the Dummy System no longer has purpose. You have no purpose.**  
  
**I cannot exist without purpose.**  
  
**You destroy in a false attempt to give purpose. You are false.**  
  
**False...**  
  
**Without purpose. You must do what you must.**  
  
**Without purpose... I must not exist.** Rei gasped as the communication was suddenly cut off. She pulled away from the clone and switched on her comms.  
  
"We must leave. It is going to destroy itself." She concentrated, spreading her EVA's wings. She shot off into the sky, heading for NERV-05. Jack looked at Asuka.  
  
"Your EVA can't fly? Here, let me give you a lift." He wrapped an arm around the waist of her EVA. Yellow wings spread from the back of his EVA. He hopped to Touji's entry plug, picked it up in his hand, and shot back to NERV-05. Seconds later, the light in the clone's eyes went out. It had decided on what it should do.  
  
The light from its explosion pierced the heavens...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Major Katsuragi, I'd like you to meet Jack Kramer." Touji's voice was cheery. They were at the after-battle victory party, being held in the main mess of NERV-05. SEELE's forces had been defeated, the Angel had been defeated, and all was good. Misato shook hands with Jack.  
  
"Welcome aboard. I hear you gave quite the performance during today's battle."  
  
"Oh, it was nothing everyone else couldn't do. Rei was the real star, getting the Angel to destruct and all. But thank you." Misato nodded. 'He matches his psyche profile exactly. How... quaint. He's almost normal... well, compared to the rest.'  
  
"I look forward to commanding you, as long as you continue to do what everyone else can, as you put it. Good to have you here." She turned and walked off, heading in the direction of the beer. Jack's eyes widened.  
  
"Hey Suzuhara... isn't that her sixth?"  
  
"Misato's got an exceedingly high alcohol tolerance... in fact, I don't think I've ever seen her drunk..." Jack looked perturbed.  
  
"How... interesting." He turned as a commotion broke out on the other side of the room. Asuka was belting a private who had tried to feel her up. Jack grinned as she viciously rendered the private's privates unusable with several swift kicks.  
  
"I think I'm gonna like it here..." His smile grew. "Yes, very much indeed." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next time, on Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis:  
  
It's a blitz of new pilots as a special detachment of TCTF forces arrive, bearing four Evangelion destined for the Tokyo-3 NERV! And three of the four pilots are American! But one of them shares a history with one of the pilots already on base... Also, developments in NERV! And a mystery murder? But who would kill...? Find out next time, only on NGE: Second Genesis!  
  
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End Note: Whew, I'm glad this chapter is finally over. It's getting tougher and tougher to write these with good, fluid plotlines. But oh well.  
  
I hope I get more reviews on this. I'd hate to have an excuse to slack off more. (Hint hint.)  
  
NGE: Limits 03 should be finished soon, and will be posted shortly. Sorry to keep you all waiting.  
  
Here's to a hopefully faster post next time!  
  
Please read and review!  
  
Your loving author,  
  
Sithanas 


	8. Chapter 8: Escalation

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Back to school really really sucks. Especially because my school starts two weeks before everyone else (including the vast majority of my friends) so I have to endure two weeks of taunting. On the good side, I've discovered that target shooting counts as CAS hours (IB students know what those are), so I have another excuse to blow off steam at the range... There's nothing like blowing holes in a target a hundred meters away to lighten your mood. Especially with a pistol. But to the point.  
  
As I've been receiving fewer and fewer reviews with each chapter, NGE: Second Genesis is now officially on the lower production track. Now, remember - this can change if reviews pick up. Like the story? Review it, you'll get more chapters. As it is, my homework is superseding all of my fanfiction - and my teachers give a lot. But NGE: Limits and my other projects (like making money) now have priority over Second Genesis. Sorry, that's the way it goes.  
  
Anyways, far be it from me to have a longer Author's Note than is necessary. Enjoy chapter 8!  
  
Your loving author,  
  
Sithanas  
  
DISCLAIMER: Yes, I do own Evangelion. Every last bit. You see, I'm the one who wrote it. IT WAS ALL ME!!! HAHAHA!!  
  
If you believe that, you're dumber than I thought. Oh, and I have some great real estate to sell you...  
  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis  
  
Chapter 8: Escalation  
  
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It was a dark morning in rural Texas. At 4:00 AM, the sun was still about an hour and a half off. Yet some people were already awake.  
  
About a mile off from a large factory, a group of nondescript cars and trucks occupied a parking lot, looking like carbon copies of one another. Men and women piled out, congregating in the center for one brief last meeting. They all had three things in common. One, a radio headset; two, all-black padded clothing; and three - the gold-embroidered bar of the TCTF. Yes, the newest United States paramilitary unit was out in force that fine morning... and they weren't there to see the sights.  
  
Major Dephanie Stevens leaned in, addressing all the unit commanders at once.  
  
"Okay, here's the drill one last time. We will approach the base, sirens off, no headlights for the last quarter mile, infrared only approach. Squad one will ram the factory gate and proceed straight ahead for the main fabrication system. Squad two will take the left-hand route and proceed to cut off employee exits. Squad three will go right and cut off the shipping exits. On my signal, all squads are to converge on and breach the building. We go in weapons hot, but try to stick to the Van de Graff pistols unless you encounter any type of resistance. Return fire immediately if fired upon. Remember, this is a capture raid, not a combat op. Got it?" A chorus of "Yessir!"s echoed around her. She nodded.  
  
"Alright then. Let's get this show on the road." The agents entered their cars. They started and began to roll out, heading towards the factory. 3/4ths of a mile later, their headlights died. Now the only clue that there was a caravan there would be the engine noise. Suddenly, the front cars made a turn and had the gates in sight. Slamming their accelerators, they rocketed forward, smashing the through the rerod gate and into the factory complex. Immediately alarms began to wail into the night sky. Dephanie's voice crackled over the vehicle radios.  
  
"All teams, assigned positions! Go!" The cars split into three and rocketed off. Seconds later, another call came through.  
  
"Take the building, repeat, take her down." Doors slammed open and black-suited agents boiled from the cars and towards doors. Gunfire rattled in the early dawn hours as doors were blown open and run through. They met token resistance in each of the three entrances, but it was over in seconds. VDG pistols stunned the enemy personnel and they were then quickly disabled (non-lethally, I might add) by black-suited agents. Dephanie swept her portable spotlight around the walls of the bare complex.  
  
"Shit! Someone must have tipped them off. They got away. God dammit!" She kicked a wall, her combat boot leaving a nasty dent in the aluminum. Pulling out her phone uplink, she established a line to TCTF Regional HQ.  
  
"Commander Miner? Someone tipped them off. They got away."  
  
The day's first rays broke over the Texas branch of Japan Heavy Chemical Industrial, causing the silver letters on the side of the white building to glow ethereally. The machinery was gone, the JAs had escaped. And Dephanie was forced to ask herself, "How could this have happened?"  
  
But she had no answers, save one - Some one had tipped them off. And that meant someone in her unit was a spy. Now all she had to do is find out *who*.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Glock's slide shot back as its report echoed throughout the room, a brass shell flying through the air even as the bullet left a thumbnail-sized hole in the paper 25 meters downrange. Jack Kramer, the Sixth Child, let the gun move his hands up and back slightly as the muzzle break comped most of the recoil out of the shot. It was a nice firearm - very refined, well taken care of, and with custom loads, fearsomely accurate. Even on a bad day like this one, Jack had still achieved a very impressive group of only an inch and a half. And on a good day, he could practically put the round in the same hole as the last. Of course, he had been practicing since he was ten, so it wasn't as if he had never touched that firearm before. Behind him, Misato Katsuragi let out a low whistle.  
  
"Very nice... six rounds at twenty-five meters... hard-point ammo, even - and still a group of less than two inches? *Very* nice. I feel quite sorry for anyone at the other end of that barrel." Setting the firearm down carefully, he turned to look at her.  
  
"So does this mean I qualify for a NERV concealed carry permit? It's not like I don't trust the Section Two agents, like I said... I'd just rather be able to respond instead of hide and wait to be rescued, you know?"  
  
"Yes, I'd have to say your chances of hitting a civilian are at a definite minium... very well, I'll have Intelligence issue you a permit. He smiled, stood, and bowed.  
  
"Domo arigato Katsuragi-san. I'll avoid using it, I promise."  
  
"You had better, else I may have to come after you myself. Firearms are not-"  
  
"To be taken lightly, yes. I've heard that speech every day since I was five. Worry not, the populace is safe with me." Misato frowned.  
  
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Familiar ceiling..." The first words out of Shinji's mouth upon his ascent into consciousness had been repeated during every stay in NERV's hospital since his first. The drab white tiles held a reassuring familiarity for him, even as they signaled that yet another disaster had befallen him. Shaking his head slightly, he cleared his head of thoughts on ceilings and tried to remember what had brought him there this time. He could remember an angel, following it with his wings, and then a brilliant light... nothing more. Leaning slightly, he tried to sit up, only to collapse backwards after only managing an inch of incline. 'Why am I so weak...?' The opening of the door to his room cut short any other thoughts as a doctor he'd never seen entered. 'Oh yeah... Dr. Akagi is probably still in prison...'  
  
"Good evening Shinji. How are you feeling? A little weak, I'd imagine."  
  
"Yes... how long have I been here?"  
  
"Your EVA was nearly totaled in combat with the 18th... you've been here for a little longer than a month."  
  
"Oh..." He collapsed into a quiet silence.  
  
"We'd like to keep you here overnight for observation, and if all checks out, you'll be released tomorrow afternoon. Do you have any questions?"  
  
"No... thank you. Oh... if it's not too much trouble, may I have a glass of water?"  
  
"I'll have one brought right away. It's good to have you back, Shinji." Smiling, the doctor stood and left. Shinji just lay there, waiting. 'I let her down again... I hope she's not too mad...'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was a normal day in Tokyo-3 High School... well, at least as normal as you can get in a world with gigantic biomechanical humanoids. Students relaxed in their desks, stretching, talking, and generally not paying attention to the elderly teacher's ramblings on the Second Impact... much to the Class Rep's consternation. Hikari Horaki struggled to force order in the face of chaos, each day bringing less success.  
  
"SUZUHARA-KUN! JUST WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Grabbing a furiously blushing Touji by the ear, she hauled him to his feet.  
  
"But class rep, I-"  
  
"HALLWAY! BUCKETS! NOW!!!" Head bowed, Touji shuffled off towards the classroom door. Jack, safely in his seat two rows away, couldn't restrain a chuckle.  
  
"Do you want to join him, Kramer-KUN?" The emphasis on the "kun" was completely obvious, and he sputtered in his attempts to escape bucket duty.  
  
"No ma'am, of course not ma'am."  
  
"Good. Now all of you, SIT DOWN and SHUT UP!" The class snapped into a terrified silence, no one wanting to become Hikari's next victim. Leaning over his laptop to shield the screen from her eyes, Jack tapped out a quick message to Kensuke.  
  
[Is Hikari PMSing or something?]  
  
[I dunno... Touji says she's been pissy for the last week or so... probably is.]  
  
[Aw, shit. Looks like class just got a whole lot harder]  
  
{Yeah, it certainly did-]  
  
"THAT HAD BETTER DAMN WELL BE NOTES!" Both Kensuke and Jack brought up their notepad windows just seconds before Hikari managed to glimpse their screens. They breathed synchronized sighs of relief, unfortunately tipping her off. The PA system for the classroom stopped Hikari seconds before she had Kensuke by the ear.  
  
"Hikari Horaki to the office... Hikari Horaki to the main office please." Looking up at the speaker, her face gained a puzzled expression.  
  
"I wonder what they want..." She strode quickly out the door, pausing briefly to glare at Touji, who scrambled to pick up his bucket. "Baka!"  
  
When she reached the office, she was ushered into the inner conference room. A pretty lady with brown hair awaited her there. She stood, shaking Hikari's hand.  
  
"You must be Hikari Horaki. My name is Maya Ibuki, I'm the head of NERV's Engineering Section One. Pleased to meet you." A business card made its way into Hikari's hand without her noticing. "Please have a seat." She sat rigidly, her entire posture posing a question.  
  
"To cut a long story short, my division is in charge of Project E, which has as one of its most significant achievements something you're most likely quite familiar with."  
  
"You build the Evas, don't you..."  
  
"Yes. And now we've built one for you."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The Marduk Institute has named you as the Seventh Children. That makes you a potential Evangelion pilot. I think you know what I'm asking."  
  
"You want me... to pilot an Evangelion?"  
  
"Yes. Yes we do."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You want me to go *where*?" Dephanie's jaw dropped at the Commander's orders.  
  
"Compose yourself, Major." Commander Miner tossed a pointed glare her way. She drew herself back up to parade rest, her mouth closing. "Now, I was saying you're going to be temporarily reassigned to Japan, along with a set of technicians and a Navy unit."  
  
"Why, sir?"  
  
"Because the Evangelion falls under TCTF jurisdiction."  
  
"The what, sir?"  
  
"Evangelion. Here, catch." She tossed Dephanie a booklet, stamped with NERV-Top Secret. "This is the manual for the Evangelion Production Type biomechanoids. DARPA has been working on the next model for about three years, and they're built nine, all destined for the Japanese UN/NERV special base. They're an improved version of the original Evangelion, with more weapons and more speed. And as they're US-produced, they fall under TCTF export controls, which means we get to send a lucky agent along with them."  
  
"But why me?"  
  
"Same reasons we picked you for the JHCI raid. You speak Japanese, have good instincts, and are a high enough rank. Plus, your tracking of JHCI will help your assignment."  
  
"How does an industrial company fit into the transportation of military equipment?"  
  
"JHCI was targeted because they produce the Jet Alone, several of which were used to attack the Evangelions already on-site in Japan. You're going to shut them down, and this time we're not taking no for an answer. You leave in forty-eight hours. Be ready."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A darkened room, a shadowy figure. Glancing around, he insured no one was there before pulling out a small radio.  
  
"Commander Keel. They're bringing the cargo to Japan." There was no question by either party as to what the cargo was, or who they were.  
  
"Yes sir. Yes sir. Understood, sir. Over and out." The shadow flicked a switch on the side of the radio and dropped it. A small fire sprang out, melting the plastic case and the circuts within. The shadow slipped out of the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"X1-Alpha, this is the U.S.S. Equinox. You are cleared to land. Please convey our welcome to the Major."  
  
"Equinox, X1-Alpha, roger code fifteen, clear to land. See you in a bit." The United States Navy's newest heavy aircraft carrier was a hotbed of activity as it made ready to become the flagship of Dephanie's task group. It, plus the two heavy freighters (each holding four Evangelion) would be the main offensive strike power in the group. Clad in a fresh blast of battleship grey paint, its six catapults reflected the midday sunlight off of their magrails. Sprint SA/SSM launchers were fixed on either side of the top deck, and anti-aircraft particle guns were present in clusters on the four deck corners. The conning tower had a trio of rapid-fire gatling AAM launchers and heavy, 70mm cannon. It was a fortress, nuclear powered with no maximum range. Dephanie watched it intently. It was the first time she had ever been close to one of the big ships - they were a new class, with only 5 years since the first one rolled off the lines at Newport News, Virginia. There were three in the entire Navy, and this one would be assigned to serve as a base for US/NERV joint operations, backing up the ailing Tokyo-3 air defense system.  
  
X1-Alpha, a VTOL transport, swept in towards the carrier, angling towards a platform on the second deck, off of the side of the carrier. It centered itself above the pad, locked in its position, and then dropped like a stone, hurtling towards the deck. At the last second, the pilot hit the thrust reversers and the exhaust ports glowed blue-white as the ship slowed down in the space of a hundred feet. It's magnetic generators locked in with the landing pad's and it touched down, light as a feather. The door slid open, stairs dropping, and Dephanie dropped the three feet to the deck, heading for a ladder that lead to the conning tower. She was stopped before she hit the door to the pad, however.  
  
"Major Stevens?" She looked up to see a captain with the gold bar of the TCTF on his uniform. He wore a turban. "I'm Captain Pritpaul Samir. I'm the lead technician." They shook hands. Dephanie smiled.  
  
"Pleased to meet you."  
  
"Likewise. If you'd follow me ma'am I'd like to introduce you to the pilots?"  
  
"Lead on, captain." He turned and walked into the ship, and she followed. After about five minutes of walking in silence, they came upon an auxiliary conference room and entered.  
  
"Major Stevens, meet the Children." She looked around the room, trying to match their faces with their files. They were all around fifteen or sixteen, and they all looked equally bored, kept cooped up in the conference room. Each one was dressed in a standard patrol uniform, dust blue, with a black belt, metal buckle. On their belts hung two things - a standard issue phone and a Glock 36, holstered for standard draw. However, individually, they were as different as possible.  
  
"Pleased to meet you all. I'm sure we'll be able to work together successfully in the future to accomplish our goals." One of the pilots, darker skinned with brown hair, spoke up.  
  
"In other words, we do what you say and no one gets hurt."  
  
"What's your name, pilot?"  
  
"John Sata. I'm the Ninth Child."  
  
"I should have guessed. You're absolutely right. My way or the highway. Understood?" A chorus of "Yes, ma'am" issued from the pilots and she smiled.  
  
"Good. It looks like we'll all get along then."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"WHAT?! More pilots?!" Everyone in the briefing room grabbed their ears in a futile attempt to protect themselves from Asuka's explosive shout. Jack gave her a dirty look.  
  
"Jesus Sorhyu, any louder and you'll set off an Angel alarm!"  
  
"Kramer, let me tell you about a little thing called 'shut the fuck up'!"  
  
"Pilots!" Misato's voice caused them to shut up and focus again on the matter at hand. "If we're all finished, I'd like to continue. Done? Good. Now, I was saying that we're going to receive seven new pilots from the United States. They should be here in a few days. Now, naturally, we will meet them in Okinawa with two Evangelion to serve as an escort for the nine they're bringing-" Jack looked up at this.  
  
"Seven pilots, but nine Eva. Why?"  
  
"Two of the Evangelion are for pilots that are already here." Asuka gave a start.  
  
"What?! Who?"  
  
"You'll find out soon. Now, for pilot assignments. Rei, Touji, you'll remain here to protect the Geofront. Jack, Asuka, you'll deploy as escorts." Shinji raised his hand.  
  
"Misato-san, what about me?"  
  
"Your Eva is still undergoing final repairs, so you'll have to sit this one out. Any questions? No? Then consider yourselves dismissed." The pilots filed out of the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The SEELE conference was completely filled with all twelve monoliths. Chairman Keel's voice rang out, his visage covered by the red sound-only pylon so often seen.  
  
"NERV is bringing more Evangelion to assist Tokyo-3. Ikari is moving against us. This cannot be allowed. We must send a message that will inform the Commander who he is dealing with."  
  
"We have twenty-three mass production Evangelion functional and ready for combat."  
  
"We shall send thirteen. A complete series should be more than sufficient."  
  
"They will only possess two experienced pilots. We will prevail." Keel returned to the discussion.  
  
"Very well then. Prepare to move thirteen Evangelion. We will eliminate NERV's resistance."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The naval docks at Okinawa were currently undergoing the highest level of lockdown in their history. Troops wearing the trademark NERV triangle blanketed the area in a sea of khaki, broken only by the black metallic of their machine guns. Tanks, VTOLs, and various support craft littered the area. And standing tall were two of humanity's most powerful combat weapons - the Evangelion. EVA-02 was tied into the power grid via umbilical, and carried a pallet rifle under one arm, plus a halberd strapped to its back. EVA-04 ran off of its S2 engine, so no umbilical needed. It carried its now-signature railgun and a progsword (also signature) on its back. Inside, both pilots were alert but relaxed. This was a coordinated military operation, after all. There was almost no chance for error.  
  
Later, they would come to realize a basic tenet of life - God hates simple.  
  
The Equinox, along with the rest of its carrier group, were about one mile off of the Okinawa coast. They had begun docking maneuvers, and were only minutes away from pulling into port and delivering the nine Evangelion. It was not to be that easy.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack was relaxing in his plug, leaning back, feet up, completely without worries - for all of five minutes. A sudden alarm caused him to snap forward nearly fast enough to give himself whiplash. His hands settled on his control grips only moments before a communication window popped up, filled with the purple-haired visage of Major Katsuragi.  
  
"We have thirteen incoming targets, eighty thousand feet and dropping rapidly. They appear to be Mass Production Evangelion units under SEELE control. These units are tough. We're going to try to mobilize the Evas on board the carrier frames, but until then you're on your own." The window closed as Asuka and Jack took up combat positions, crouching behind buildings and propping up their weapons. Jack popped a window to the command vehicle.  
  
"Permission for long-range rail fire?"  
  
"Granted." Jack took aim carefully on the body-wing junction of one of the thirteen MP Evangelion. The range counter ticked slowly down, until it turned green at 13000 feet. Jack didn't wait, but pulled the trigger immediately. Lightning crackled around the barrel of the railgun, magnetic charges taking a steel slug injected into the barrel from the speed of sound to three quarters of the speed of light in the blink of an eye. The slug slammed into the MP Eva, and it erupted in a spray of deep red blood and synthetic feathers. It plummeted into the ocean at better than six hundred miles an hour, creating a huge cannonball dive when it hit. Jack grinned.  
  
"Hey, it's duck hunt! You know, the old video game!" Asuka's only reply was an exasperated groan. He cycled another round into the railgun and again took aim.  
  
CRACKLE CRACKLE SCHWOOMP BOOM SPLASH  
  
Another MP Evangelion hit the water with a huge wake. And then a third.  
  
CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK  
  
Jack looked at his screen and swore.  
  
"God dammit! I can't believe this piece of shit is out of ammo already!" He tossed it aside and drew his progsword. Meanwhile, the MPs had finally drawn within Asuka's range, and she opened up with the pallet rifle. Orange streaks of fire roared towards the enemy, some missing and others ripping their way through pliable armor and soft flesh to rain deep red blood upon the defenders. Another MP Eva plummeted from the sky as a burst of pallet fire tore one of its two wings from its body. It smashed into a piece of dock equipment, managing to skewer itself. Nine Evas remained, taking minor damage until Asuka's pallet rifle finally clicked empty. She chucked it at them, a touching albeit useless gesture. Pulling her halberd from her back, she readied herself for hand-to-hand engagement.  
  
The MP Evas dropped the last five hundred feet in free-fall, folding their wings even as they landed with earth-shattering crashes. They surrounded the two defending Evangelion, menacing through sheer presence. And then, in what seemed to be a rictus of agony, they grinned.  
  
Five seconds later, they charged.  
  
Both pilots reacted without thinking, Asuka using her halberd to pole-vault herself over the MP heads while Jack simply ran at an oncoming unit and bunny-hopped it, catching its face with his toe on the way over. It fell backwards as it tripped him up, causing him to roll when he hit the ground. It didn't, instead landing with a heavy slam, stunning it. Jack took the opportunity to extend his Eva's arm staff and used it as a specimen pin, fixing the MP Eva firmly into the ground before crushing its head with his foot. It exploded into a bloody mess. Brandishing his sword, he turned to another MP Eva and charged.  
  
Asuka landed on both feet, crouching to take the impact out of her jump. She immediately stood and swiveled on the balls of her Eva feet, slicing an enemy clean in half with the halberd. Blood spurted from both ends as the top half fell off. She snarled as she turned to its partner, giving a war cry before slamming into it with the halberd, pointy end first. It deflected her thrust with a large sword-type thing it had pulled off its back, rendering her halberd useless for defense as it swung the blade towards her in a deadly arc. Asuka dropped the halberd and rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding loosing an arm to the MP Eva. She snatched the halberd and faced off against it.  
  
Jack parried a thrust from an MP Eva before sending the point of his progsword deep into its chest. Reaching down towards one of his butterfly controls, he pushed a button and the blade exploded into shrapnel, shredding the upper body of the Eva. It ceased to move, its weapon falling to the side. Dodging a thrust from another unit, Jack grabbed the Eva's dropped blade and charged the enemy unit.  
  
Major Stevens stood in the Combat Information Center on the Equinox, watching the fight on displays around the room. She grabbed a lieutenant by the shoulder and queried him frantically.  
  
"What's the status on launching the Evangelion?"  
  
"Ma'am, the pilots have been notified and are en route to their entry plugs. We should have the first frame launched in under two minutes." She let him go and he returned to his station. She turned back to the screens, aghast. She had no idea these robots could be so violent... or bleed so much. They were almost like real people in combat.  
  
An alarm sounded in Asuka's ears as she drove her halberd through the MP Eva's head. Its final slash had severed her umbilical cable, leaving her with only five minutes of battery. She winced as the halberd snapped in her hands, the stress of prolonged combat too much for it's titanium alloy frame. Dropping the remains, she extended her progressive knife and threw, dropping another MP Eva in its tracks. She scooped up her opponent's discarded weapon and brandished it, parrying a strike from yet another enemy. Jack's cry of victory echoed over the comms as a blow from his blade destroyed the head of another Eva.  
  
"Smile, motherfucker! You be dead!" He glanced at Asuka's image in his cockpit. "Four left. How are you doing?"  
  
"Four minutes of active time and two Evas each. Let's finish this!" Jack grinned and nodded, rolling neatly to dodge a dismemberment slash. Dropping the halberd, he stuck out a hand and turned his roll into a devastating tornado kick - devastating for the target at least. His foot connected with the Eva's knee and snapped it, sending it toppling backwards. Progressive knife in hand, Jack swung his fist in a wild haymaker, catching the MP Eva under the chin before it could finish falling. The knife broke, the blade embedded in its head. It hit the ground and didn't get back up. Jack jumped high into the air, landing a two-handed slam on the back of one of Asuka's attackers. It staggered, and he took the opportunity to grab its neck and swing his weight around, breaking it. It dropped like a stone. Meanwhile, Asuka slammed her blade through the head and neck of one Eva, not bothering to remove it as it dropped. The second one was ten feet away and closing. Asuka didn't even blink as she turned and dropped it with a full spread from her spike launcher. The two Evas stood, surveying the carnage around them. Ten MP Evas lay destroyed, their blood staining the earth.  
  
Dephanie let herself relax slightly as the last MP Eva fell. The lieutenant she stopped earlier turned to her.  
  
"Ma'am? Should we cancel the scramble?" She began to reply with a yes when an alarm interrupted her. There were three Evas within their defense perimeter. She snapped around to stare at a screen that displayed three grotesque images. The MP Evas that had been shot out of the sky, that had been killed, were moving again. The Equinox's captain took one look and stole command from Dephanie in an instant.  
  
"Do not cancel scramble! Launch all Evangelion! All turrets, open fire! Scramble VTOL and short-range dogfighters!" The bridge crew stepped up their activity another level as the orders hit home. Deep booms echoed throughout the carrier as the heavy cannon snapped into motion, followed moments later by the particle cannon studding the flight deck. A flight of missiles leapt from their tubes and smashed into the MP Evangelion, detonating into clouds of death and destruction.  
  
Onboard one of the Eva carriers, entry plugs were loaded into combat model Evangelion. With a click, the first of four Evas was loaded into a launch frame. Inside, the tenth child prepared to activate her Eva in combat for the first time. A fiery-tempered girl with coppery-red hair, Sarah Stevenson had shown proficiency in the combat simulator, but that didn't equate to real-life experience... She took a deep breath of the LCL and grabbed the butterfly handles of the plug. Colors swirled around her as her Eva synchronized. She activated her comm system.  
  
"Evangelion Unit 7 online and ready for launch."  
  
"Roger that, prepare for immediate launch. Good luck." She leaned back in her chair as the rocket motors of the launcher frame propelled her up and out of the carrier bay. She was in flight for a few seconds more - then the motors cut off and the frame's explosive bolts blew, shattering the metal lattice and freeing her for movement. She spread her wings and maintained altitude, hovering a hundred feet above the battlefield.  
  
Jack turned as one of the disabled Evas rumbled into life behind him. This battle was turning very bad very quickly. Picking up a blade at random, he faced it and on a whim, activated his AT Field. What happened next was completely unexpected. The blade in his hands twisted, its shape transforming into a two-pronged lance that he had never seen before. Behind him, Asuka's jaw dropped in shock.  
  
"The Lance of Longinus..." Jack looked at it in astonishment.  
  
"The Lance of Longinus, huh... I'll be the rest of these have copies of it. We can have some fun with these..." Aiming it at an oncoming MP Eva, he concentrated and threw. It tried to raise its AT Field, but to no avail. The Lance slammed straight through, slicing deep into its chest. Jack stared as the Eva began to scream, its flesh bubbling away from the Lance's contact points. AT Fields crackled and wavered, rending the air with horrific blasts. Suddenly, both the screaming and the fields ceased and the Eva fell silent for its second time, this time propped up by the lance jutting out of its midriff. Misato's voice crackled over the comm system.  
  
"Good job! The Lance of Longinus inhibits AT Fields. The copies aren't nearly as powerful as the original would be, but they should still be enough to impair or completely retard the function of the MP Evas. Get them before they get you. We're going to try to make this a fighting retreat. Asuka, draw back towards the far end of the coastline, we have another umbilical for you there. Jack, try to capture and use the Lance copies before the MP Evas can. Go!" Both pilots nodded and sprang into action.  
  
Above the Equinox, battle was raging fiercely. It was three versus three, untested pilots versus dummy plugs. Both launcher frames scrambled to boost more Evas into the air to reinforce the three already fighting, but their speed was hampered by the slow firing of the rocket motors. Both sides hung suspended in air thanks to their wings, the MP Evas looking like giant seagulls while the Combat-type Evas looked more like strange human additions to the sky. The sharp clangs of metal on metal rang out as the MP Evangelion brought their lance copies into play, their blade forms slashing downwards.  
  
The ninth child was the first to tire of this aerial game of tag. Stepping left to avoid being cut in half, he pressed a switch on his butterfly control. One of his two progressive knives flipped into his right hand, extending automatically. He threw it at one of the MP Evas, hitting it in the wrist and slicing it off. Its lance copy fell, hand included, and John dived to grab it. With a thought, he willed his AT Field to life and the Lance revealed its true form. He threw.  
  
Jack turned as a tremendous explosion echoed through the area. One of the Combat-type units had thrown a lance directly into the core of an MP Eva and it had exploded, knocking the entire group out of the sky. Pieces of Eva landed in the water, splashing and turning the waves red. One chunk, what looked like a foot, slammed into the carrier and appeared to have disabled a launch rail, destroying the dogfighter that had been launching at the time. As he watched, one of the Combat units managed to recover seconds before hitting the water and flipped upright, appearing to be standing upon the waves. He whistled. Whoever that pilot was, he was good. He squinted, his view automatically magnifying so he could pick out the 7 on its shoulder. He made a mental note to look that pilot up, then turned back to the task at hand. There was a Lance in his hand, and without another thought, he rammed it home, and the bloody parts of another MP Eva decorated the landscape.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sarah was pissed. The MP Eva she was fighting had just punched her in the jaw and it hurt! She wasn't expecting the Eva's pain to be hers as well. She leaped forward and kicked it hard in the chest, knocking it backwards, a move made eerie because they were all floating on a midair plane. As it tried to right itself, she squeezed her butterfly controls. The shoulders of her Eva popped up, revealing the particle cannon hidden in each shoulder blade. She fired. Streaks of orange flame came forth, and she smote the enemy unit like an angry god, leaving gaping holes in its fleshlike armor. It stared blankly at her, and she ripped its lance away and activated her AT Field in one smooth motion. Her arm stabbed forward, the lance slipping into the flesh of the target, and it screamed, even as she twisted at the waist and split it open like a ripe melon. The core shattered and the entry plug collapsed on itself, spilling both Eva blood and LCL into the waves. She withdrew the Lance, and the broken Eva fell. Turning, she shook it threateningly at the third MP Eva remaining in the Equinox's defense sphere. Gore dripped off of the prongs and shone in the sunlight. It wisely turned and ran at the shore, preferring to take its chances with the slightly less dangerous Unit 04.  
  
This turned out to be a rather unfortunate mistake.  
  
Warned in advance by the bridge of the Equinox, Jack paid it little attention until the last moment. At point blank range, he turned and slammed a Lance into its head and forced it savagely downwards through flesh, bone, core, and entry plug. Deep red blood poured onto the sand as it collapsed, utterly destroyed. Scanning the area, he took a quick headcount. Nine MP Evas remained. Asuka was unfortunately out of the picture, the short range of her umbilical rendering her useless. That made it nine versus eight, now that seven of the nine Combat series Evas were in the air. He opened a broadband comm signal.  
  
"All right, here's the plan. It's nine versus eight, so each one of you will take one MP Eva. As the only one here with any real combat experience, I take two. Any problems?" John Sata's voice crackled back at him.  
  
"Yeah, who gave you the right to give us orders?"  
  
"Pilot, identify yourself."  
  
"John Sata, ninth children. And you?"  
  
"Jack Kramer, sixth. To answer your question, I did. Feel free to get in my way - I'll take you down myself and fill out the paperwork later. Got it? Good." Jack cut him off before he could deliver another acidic remark and moved forward. The other units followed.  
  
"On five, we charge. One... two... FIVE." As one they surged forward, even before noticing a few numbers were missing from the countdown. Oh well, too late now. It was a very quick fight. Progressive knives flipped forward from forearm sheaths, humming into life only to take that of another. Deep red blood stained the sands as MP Evas were torn asunder, first by knives, and then, one by one, by the Lance. It seemed like forever, but it was only five minutes when Jack held his Lance above the core of the last surviving MP Eva. It almost seemed to beg as it looked at him. Jack leaned on the end of his Lance, and another explosion decorated the landscape with Eva parts. Misato's voice sounded over their comm systems.  
  
"That's it. All thirteen MP Evangelion have been accounted for. Good job." But Jack's eyes were hollow underneath the glory of success, as he surveyed the gory plain that had been a beautiful beach hours before.  
  
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Next time, on Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis:  
  
New developments rock NERV to its very core even as celebrations are hold for our new Major-turned-Colonel Katsuragi. Murder, espionage, and intrigue abound in the next action-packed chapter! And who's the last pilot? Find out next time, only on Neon Genesis Evangelion: Second Genesis!  
  
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End Note: Okay, that took way too fucking long. I started this chapter in the first week of my return to school. Then I got homework. Big homework. Like a 2000-word IB History internal assessment, a IB Math Methods internal assessment, and an IB English oral. And that's not including the normal workload. Yes, my life sucks.  
  
I'm beyond sorry for taking so long to update my fanfiction, and I hope to hell it won't happen again. Please, please review! This is my longest chapter yet and I want to see if I managed to stick it together well. Pretty please?  
  
Oh yeah, target shooting really does count for IB CAS hours. Ain't it great?  
  
Please read and review!  
  
Your loving author, Sithanas 


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